When Ray Harryhausen tells a studio what he wants, he damn well gets it...unless it's colour.
Plot: On their return journey from Venus, a US military spaceship crashes into the ocean, off the coast of Scicilly. Two fishermen rescue a Doctor and the Colonel in charge of the mission. Washing up on the shore, a little boy finds a capsule with a gelatinous blob inside and, coincidentally, sells it to a travelling Zoologist (I'm not making this up). Meanwhile, the Zoologist's Granddaughter (nearly a Doctor) treats the injured men. Due to the difference in the atmosphere, the gelatinous blob hatches and begins to grow, fast. Our creature starkly resembles a later work by Harryhausen- the Kraken from Clash of the Titans. It's fair to say the "monster" is mis-understood, and as a result of a few pre-conceptions by a dog, a farmer and the Italian Police, the poor, confused creature is hounded up hill and down dale, until he/she ends up scaling the Coliseum in Rome.
This all leads us nicely to the final line of the film:
"Why is it always, always so costly for Man to move from the present to the future?"
Very profound.
Budget: $ No idea, but it didn't stretch to the cost of colour, as requested by Harryhausen.
Gross: $?
Fun Fact: The film is a Harryhausen showcase. Designed to take full advantage of the man's talents. It was even written for him and set in Rome, because that's where he was going on holiday. That's star power! PS. one of the actors is actually called Arthur Space.
Plot: On their return journey from Venus, a US military spaceship crashes into the ocean, off the coast of Scicilly. Two fishermen rescue a Doctor and the Colonel in charge of the mission. Washing up on the shore, a little boy finds a capsule with a gelatinous blob inside and, coincidentally, sells it to a travelling Zoologist (I'm not making this up). Meanwhile, the Zoologist's Granddaughter (nearly a Doctor) treats the injured men. Due to the difference in the atmosphere, the gelatinous blob hatches and begins to grow, fast. Our creature starkly resembles a later work by Harryhausen- the Kraken from Clash of the Titans. It's fair to say the "monster" is mis-understood, and as a result of a few pre-conceptions by a dog, a farmer and the Italian Police, the poor, confused creature is hounded up hill and down dale, until he/she ends up scaling the Coliseum in Rome.
This all leads us nicely to the final line of the film:
"Why is it always, always so costly for Man to move from the present to the future?"
Very profound.
Budget: $ No idea, but it didn't stretch to the cost of colour, as requested by Harryhausen.
Gross: $?
Fun Fact: The film is a Harryhausen showcase. Designed to take full advantage of the man's talents. It was even written for him and set in Rome, because that's where he was going on holiday. That's star power! PS. one of the actors is actually called Arthur Space.
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